Born By Moonlight by Krista Street

Chapter 19

~ AVERY ~

Wyatt and Nicholas proved to be extremely patient and sympathetic while I remained with my parents. The afternoon ticked by as I sat with them in that room above the subterranean libraries.

It was only when the bell chimed four o’clock in the square outside, and I began nodding off in my seat even though it was only late afternoon, that they stood to leave.

“We’ll let you rest,” my mother said softly.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so tired.” My chin dipped.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” my dad said. He helped me stand, and I hugged him as tightly as I could muster before doing the same to my mother.

Their eyes were red and puffy. In the past few hours, we’d cried as often as we’d laughed, but it felt so good to spend time with them, to connect again. It had literally been years since we’d enjoyed an afternoon of one another’s company with no pressing commitments weighing us down.

Lately, I’d been so busy with school, them so busy with work. I’d visited them for the holidays but sometimes not. My studies had kept me occupied, and on more than one occasion I’d chosen to stay back at university with my friends.

Now I wished I hadn’t passed up even a moment with my parents.

Wyatt appeared at my side when they gathered their things, his werewolf nature blurring his speed and keeping his footsteps silent.

My mom slipped her coat on while my dad donned his wool beret—the one that he’d had for as long as I could remember—over his thinning hair.

“We’ll see you again tomorrow?” my mom asked as she kissed my cheek.

“I’d like that,” I replied.

My dad gave me one last squeeze, then Nicholas showed them out. When it was just Wyatt and me in the room, he once again swept me up in his arms, cradling me against his chest.

“Hey,” I said, swatting him half-heartedly. “I can walk. I’m not an invalid.” Even though I basically was. I knew that I would probably collapse before I reached the elevator, but it felt good to say something normal—something I would have said before the comet sickened me.

But Wyatt didn’t reply, my teasing doing little to alleviate the heaviness on his face. He pulled me closer, his throat working as his arms tightened more. “Have I ever told you that you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met?”

I shivered, his tender words touching me in deeper ways than he could have known. “And you’re the most honorable and kind man I’ve ever been with.”

The glow around his eyes brightened as his jaw worked again. “Hardly. I—” He cleared his throat. “I’ll never forgive myself for turning my back on you during these past few months. Never.”

Something inside me shattered at the raw pain coating his words. “Wyatt. I don’t blame you anymore for that. I didn’t know your reasoning at the time, but now it makes sense, and I need you to know that I don’t blame you.”

“You forgive me so easily.”

“Which is why you should forgive yourself.”

He opened his mouth to say something further, but instead cleared his throat again and blinked rapidly.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the moisture coating his eyes. “Wyatt,” I whispered again.

“I can’t lose you,” he said hoarsely. “I just can’t. I don’t know how to live without you.”

“You’ve done just fine up until now,” I said, trying to tease since the pain in his words tore me up.

“But that was before—” He ground his teeth together, his throat bobbing again when he swallowed, and it became apparent how hard he was fighting to control himself and not break down.

And that’s when I knew with every fiber of my being how real this bond was between us.

Mate.

I laid my palm on his cheek. “You need to learn to live without me. For me. Please learn, for me.”

His eyes blazed brighter, but he didn’t nod. Even now, when I felt death creeping toward me, Wyatt still wouldn’t accept that there wasn’t a way out of this.

“Will you take me back to our chambers? I think I’d like to lie down.” My body felt so heavy and tired. I’d never experienced fatigue like this. It was as if I’d hiked up the highest mountain, then run a marathon, then swum across the ocean, all after not sleeping for a month.

Yet I’d done nothing more than sit in chairs and sleep since we’d arrived.

“I should take you back to the library, to the preserving magic—”

“Wyatt,” I said softly. “That won’t stop it. Please, back to our chambers.”

He cradled me closer. “Of course. Whatever you wish.”

Nicholas appeared in the doorway again, and when we stepped back into the black and white checkered corridor, my parents were visible through the windows as they walked on the street toward their hotel.

My throat tightened. My dad had his arm around my mom. She leaned into his side as his head pressed against hers. They clung to each other with every step they took.

My heart lightened, if only a little. They would have each other after I was gone.

I took comfort in that as Wyatt carried me back to the elevator, Nicholas leading the way.

The vampire was strangely quiet, not once sending a heated glance or a titillating smile my way. It was as if he, too, felt my situation was so grave that he wouldn’t dare jeopardize what peace I had left.

Once back in the subterranean levels, Nicholas glided down the halls, his footsteps completely silent. Wyatt prowled behind him, each step a little bob that pressed me closer to his chest. His pine and oak scent floated around me. I inhaled, loving the smell of him. It quieted something in my chest, anchoring me. It felt so right to be with him.

Nicholas stopped at our door, and Wyatt extracted the enchanted key. When he inserted it in the lock, the door clicked several times as magic hummed along my skin.

“I’ll join you in the library again,” Wyatt said to Nicholas before he opened the door. “We need to keep searching.”

Nicholas dipped his head. “I shall be nearby for when you’re ready to depart.”

Wyatt closed the door behind us, then walked quietly toward the bed. I shivered, once again feeling the bone-deep cold that penetrated these ancient cavernous walls.

“I’ll light the fire,” he said and pulled back the sheets.

I slipped my shoes off, then sank onto the mattress while Wyatt hunkered down in front of the fire. I shimmied out of my pants and slid my bare legs under the covers.

The heated blankets immediately warmed my skin. I sighed as some of the icy coldness lifted from my limbs.

Once a fire was crackling, Wyatt returned to my side, the mattress dipping heavily under his weight. “Do you need anything?” he asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“No, just you.”

His eyes burned when they trailed over my face, my neck, my chest, before crawling back up again. “What can I do to help you before I return to the library?”

My heart sank when he mentioned leaving again. I couldn’t distinguish his hope, but I was beginning to realize that even here, in the most coveted library in the world, answers may not be waiting. It was most likely that nothing could save me from the Safrinite comet.

So far, the few findings the gargoyles had managed to muster together had all been riddles and prophecies. Nothing concrete had been discovered that said we needed to do this to save me from death.

And quite honestly, I didn’t want to die in these bed chambers alone.

“Join me?” I asked pulling the covers back.

His breath hitched when he saw my bare legs exposed beneath the sheets. My shirt had ridden up, revealing the juncture of my thighs. I still wore panties, but they left little to the imagination.

Wyatt growled, the rumble low and raw. “You need to sleep.”

“I need you. Sleep can wait.”

“Avery,” he said with a groan. “You’re so weak.”

I caught his hand when he was about to rake it through his hair. My grip wasn’t strong, but I wasn’t dead yet either. “I may be weaker than I normally am, but I’m not that weak. Please. Stay with me.”